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Assembly of Lords
The Assembly of Lords is the supreme ruling council for the Kingdom of New Lordaeron. The Assembly consists of representative leaders from each of the nation's regions. Ten of the members hold the rank of "Lord", a title of aristocracy granted by the Assembly, one of the members is a representative selected by the Borough Council of Hearthglen (Hearthglen's ruling House Fordring declined the offer of joining the the Assembly to remain neutral), and the other members hold only observer status as they are military administrators for the occupied territories of Andorhal, Silverpine, Hillsbrad, and the Hinterlands. History The final stage of New Lordaeron's development came in the form of the Assembly of Lords. On the third day of Latter Winter in the Year 28, leaders from the various boroughs journeyed to Tyr's Hand for a convention of political importance to the future of New Lordaeron. These leaders were soon to be acknowledged as the Lords of New Lordaeron. However, this aristocracy was not universally recognized prior to this meeting---in fact prior to this time, there was no concept of an aristocracy in New Lordaeron---it was all informal. These leaders were members of importance in their borough of residence. They either possessed power over the populace by way of holding control over the borough's headmen such as with the Galbarrows in Stratholme Province or they ruled for past merits such as recognition of House Mohrgan's heritage or in Blackwood Borough the people recognized the hero Geoffrey Brambleward, originally a mere peasant. The meeting was called by Lord Marshal Lutheri Forsen and supported by Lord Bishop Daern Truefaith. Requests were sent out to each of the boroughs' leading councils. The Lord Marshal requested that the council dispatch their "leading councilman or leading citizen that can be trusted to represent the interests of the borough's citizenry." Though it was not said outright, Lord Forsen was asking that the most politically powerful individual in the borough---someone that the borough would trust. Notable Gatherings First Council of the Assembly Day One By the time of Latter Winter in Year 28, most of the soon-to-be-recognized lords were in place. The Stannards had recently risen to prominence in the Thondroril Borough, Erek Galbarrow had only just been appointed the chairman of Stratholme Province, the Browmans had been inserted in the Corin's Crossing Borough by the Mohrgans, and Thadean Andyr had moved into West Darrowmere and took the name Andyr-Barov to legitmize his power claim. Although invitations were sent to each borough, there was a great deal of confusion over what the Lord Marshal wanted---some suspicion if this was a power play---arguements arose over who to send and so on. Therefore, only five of the nine soon-to-be-recognized lords appeared for the first gathering: Lord Marshal Lutheri Forsen, Lord Beketus Caballero, Lord Amos Stannard, Lord Hestein Mohrgan, and Captain Geoffrey Brambleward (he was called Captain from his days of fighting the the Scourge---and it was before he was appointed a lord). In a skilled maneuver Lord Forsen invited a number of his closest Temple Knights to watch the gathering---intending to put the spotlight on the lords, give the knights an understanding on how New Lordaeron's government operated, and it made the lords (particularly Amos Stannard and Hestein Mohrgan) behave themselves as none would pitch a fit with the public was viewing them. During the proceedings the creation of the Assembly of Lords was formalized with the intent to rule the Kingdom of New Lordaeron until the throne was filled. The position of "Lord" was made official and the five gathered individuals were recognized as holding this new rank. Lord Mohrgan and Lord Caballero felt uneasy about letting Geoffrey Brambleward, a man of the lower class, take the title. After some debate, Lord Mohrgan proposed a compromise by with he would support the House Brambleward and House Lossier to be made ruling houses within their respective regions if the Assembly would recognize the House Browman and House Galbarrow to their own territories. All of those gathered agreed. There still remained the matter of who would represent the Hearthglen Province, which was technically controlled by House Fordring and the somewhat lawless West Darrowmere Borough. Lord Mohrgan sought to advocate one of his nephews to rule West Darrowmere---which would essentially put both East and West Darrowmere under Lord Mohrgan. None of the other Lords agreed to this; instead, they selected the young Thadaen Andyr-Barov who was already trying to consolidate his informally held power over that region. Mohrgan grudgingly accepted the appointment but called for the Hearthglen Province to hold nothing more than an elected representative from their borough council on the Assembly. It was obvious he feared that Forsen would gain another ally if House Fordring appointed a lord to be on the Assembly. Everyone felt this was a valid compromise for the unanimous appointment of Lord Thadaen. They spent the rest of the day creating the rules and procedures for the Assembly. Day Two The newly appointed Lord Augustus Browman arrived in Tyr's Hand---having secretly been urged to do so by Lord Mohrgan. Due to his advanced age, Lord Browman did not attend any of the gatherings and instead had his son the Baron of Mereldar, Trevor Browman, take his place the Assembly. Matters for the second day fell upon the subject of the Lordaeron Temple Knights themselves, and what role they would hold in the new nation. No one wanted them disbanded. But all of the Lords with the exception of Forsen and Caballero saw the Temple Knights as a possible threat to their liberty and that it gave House Forsen near full control of the military and thereby he had the power to use those troops to impose his law over the realm. Eventually, it was agreed that the Lordaeron Temple Knights would act as New Lordaeron's standing army and at Lord Mohrgan and Lord Stannard's insistence, they amended one of the Council of Headmen's decisions so that each borough was now allowed to possess a militia that numbered no greater than half of the borough's population. later than evening, Lord Stannard would have the Assembly include that each Borough could only possess up to one hundred mercenaries---clearly Stannard feared Mohrgan hiring soldiers to assault Thondroril. The majority of the day was spent determining matters of logistics in regards to who would supply what to the army or who would provide what for the militias. Lord Constable Thesus Philostrate advised Lord Caballero and Lord Forsen to establish a basic code in regards to all the militias so that they could function as auxiliaries for the Lordaeron Temple knights during times of war. this motion was also agreed to despite objections from Lord Brambleward----whom had spent nine years of fighting by his own rules. By the end of the second day as things were settling down, Lord Hestein Mohrgan proposed that Lord Marshal Forsen be replaced with someone new. Everyone was shocked---especially the Temple Knights in the audience. Immediately, boos and hisses rang throughout the meeting hall and Lord Forsen was forced to call "Attention!" for the soldiers to be silent. The following is the only record of the words spoken---but it was written two days after the event and its accuracy is in so question: Hestein Mohrgan: "I would like to make the motion to grant Lord Lutheri Forsen a pension of two thousand gold shields every year for the rest of his life, and that we thank him for his service formally.However, now we gentlemen must chose his replacement." Amos Stannard: "Replacement!?! But he is not resigning!" Mohrgan: "It is was my understanding that as the Lord of Tyr's Hand Township, he can no longer possess the office of Lord Marshal." Beketus Caballero: "We never discussed such, Hestein. You must have dreamed about it." Mohrgan: "I propose that we replace the Lord Marshal with Trevor Browman, Baron of Mereldar." *Booing and hissing for the audience, the lords try to speak over them but cannot.* Lutheri Forsen: *declares* "At attention!" *The audience silences.* Stannard: "You do not have the power to make such a motion, Mohrgan!" Mohrgan: "I am a member of this council, yes?" Stannard: "Apparently." Mohrgan: "And did we not agree that the Lordaeron Temple Knights now serve as New Lordaeron's standing army." Trevor Browman: "We did this morning." Mohrgan: "And yesterday, whom did we say shall rule Lordaeron until a monarch is found?" Geoffrey Brambleward: "This Assembly...make your point." Mohrgan: "By that logic, it would be apparent that the Lordaeron Temple Knights are subject to this Assembly as they serve New Lordaeron and we rule New Lordaeron." Stannard: "You sly---" Forsen: "You are correct, Lord Hestein. let us put your motion to the vote. All on favor of the aforementioned motion please raise your hand." *No one raises their hands though Mohrgan and Browman look at each other to determine a course of action. Approximately ten seconds pass.* Forsen: "Motion fails." This event made the rest of the evening too tense to continue and the Assembly adjourned until the next day. Day Three By the last day, everyone was ready to depart and they rushed through matters of judicial policy, internal transportation regulation, diplomatic appointments, and creating a basic tax and levy code. By evening, they each lord departed, promising that they would reconvene by the month's end. Second Council of the Assembly The Second Council was the infamous gathering on the 63rd Day of First Winter of Year 31 during which Lord Amos Stannard was murdered with posion. However, prior to the tragedy, the Assembly set the procedure in elevating occupied territories into the status of boroughs. Alterac had been named a new province of the kingdom, the matter of it's ruling family was to held in limbo for later discussion. Lord Beketus Caballero was formally replaced by Lord Rordan Darrow to rule Havenshire Borough. The fate of Andorhal of determined to be the capital of a new borough once the remainder of the Hearthglen Woods had been taken from the Forsaken. There were also matters proposed by Lord Rordan Darrow of establishing bureaucratic committees for the sake of alleviating the Lords of their expanding duties. Yet this issues were not addressed. The Second Council took place in Tyr's Hand in the Assembly Council Chambers and lasted only two hours until Lord Stannard's death ended the event. Third Council of the Assembly The Third Assembly Council took place on the 8th to 21st Days of First Winter in Year 31 and its purpose was to take up on the issues left incomplete during the Second Council. These matters resolved around enlarging the government authority with a bureaucracy to take the burden off the Assembly. Throughout Year 30, the Lords complained that half of their time they were governing their own borough and the other half was in Tyr's Hand---the governance of the full nation was difficult to perform in tandem with ruling their individual regions. Fourth Council of the Assembly Fifth Council of the Assembly Sixth Council of the Assembly In the wake of the overwhelming losses at the Battle upon the Plains of Light's Shield, Director Cyrel Tullspierre called for an immediate Council of the Assembly. All of the lords with the exception of Lord Lossier (whom had gone missing) and Lord-Moderator Lutheri Forsen. The major problems they had to handle were questions about the refugees crammed into the corner of New Lordaeron that they Horde had shoved them into, figuring out what to do about the houses of nobility in exile, and rebuilding the shattered military. Additionally, they had to formally vote on whether or not to accept the infamous Fordring Ultimatum. The Assembly decided that the lords-in-exile would take up residence in various low population bailiwicks and fiefs within the remaining territory of New Lordaeron; then the refugees would join their lords within which ever region they had been granted temporary authority over. Funds were then made avaliable for the construction of refugee settlements. The matter of the Ultimatum was debately heatedly but in the end the vote was in favor of accepting the Ultimatum in order to spend the time rebuilding and rearming. Despite the importance of the above, the Sixth Council is best known for the dramatic shift in foreign policy that it instituted. Up until the Horde's invasion of New Lordaeron, the Assembly prefer to involve themselves with the nations of the Alliance as little as possible. But it was decided that an envoy would be dispatched to Stormwind to negoiate formal admittance into the Grand Alliance---which would result in military assistance when the time came to push the Horde from the occupied territories. Seventh Council of the Assembly Following the return of New Lordaeron military from a campaign to assist the Kingdom of Stormwind, greater information had been revealed about the Horde's unwillingness to abide by the terms of the Fording Ultimatum---specifically the provision ordering all prisoners' of war to be returned. Additionally, a conspiracy had been discovered in which members of the Cult of the Damned had been caught smuggling corpses out of New Lordaeron by disguising themselves as Argent Crusaders. Although the Crusaders themselves were not to blame, it caused them to lose further support among the populace. In such an atmosphere, the lords convened in Tyr's Hand and finding sufficient evidence of the Horde's lack of adherence to the Ultimatum, it was decided that they had nullified the treaty. Therefore, much of the remaining time for the meeting was devoted to the planning of the "Third Military Reforms" which reorganized the Temple Knights into Chapters based in the realm's major cities. Militia quotas were adjusted to compensate for population changes. Plans were made for an upcoming campaign to retake Stratholme and Darrowshire by the end of the season. Legions were organized out of the existing military formations. Eighth Council of the Assembly Powers Limitations to Powers Military Power The Director The Exchange Administration The Council of Headmen Protocol and Procedures The Assembly of Lords uses the standard practices of aristocratic councils that has been used since the time of Arathor. By custom, they meet on the 40th day of each season in the capital city of Tyr's Hand where they are met by a cadre of knights that lead them through the city to the Town Hall that serves as the nation's capitol. Two knights of the Lord's House serve as his ceremonial guard and escort him into the assembly chambers. Once everyone has arrived, the Lord of Tyr's Hand welcomes each and opens the session. Though they do meet on the 40th day any lord has the right to call an emergency session. The Lord of Tyr's Hand serves as the moderator for the Assembly, as was decided at the First Council of the Assembly. Large scale assembly meetings in which all Lords are required to be present (yet this has never been successfully enforced) and the public is permitted to watch are formally referred to as "Councils." So far there have been only two such events. Weapons are to be discarded during sessions and disagreeing parties are required by ancient custom to stand at least two swords' lengths appart from each other. Each lord holds the power to make a motion of resolution, a motion of conclusion, and a motion of appointment. They also hold the power to make a call to order, call to point, call to adjourn, and call to close. The motions each lord is allowed to make reflects the form in which decisions and orders are made by the Assembly as a whole. Motions of Resolution are declarations that have no actions accompanying them---this is when the Assembly wants their opinions known with praises or condemnations, etc. Motions of Conclusion are decisions that require action to be taken, such as establishing a new law or something as simple as Making a one time request for funding. Motions of Appointment are decisions in which people are appointed or removed from a position such as an militia or military officer, a judge or barrister, or even a lord if the situation arose. As for the calls, they are merely to regulate the events and arguements of the session itself such as the call to order is where a lord objects to another Lord's actions because it falls outside the range of acceptable behavior or it can be an objection with the procedures at hand if the objecting lord feels that the moderator has made a mistake in protocol. Despite the rules and regulations, many of the actions carried out are by way of "gentlemen's agreements" in which there is only an unspoken code and regulate what is considered to be proper. Current Status Standing Members Lord of Tyr's Hand, Lutheri Forsen Lord of Havenshire, Alasandera Darrow Lord of Corin's Crossing, Augustus Browman Lord of Blackwood, Geoffrey Brambleward Lord of Northdale, Vagan Lossier Lord of Stratholme, Agan Galbarrow Lady of Thondroril, Selena Stannard Representative of Hearthglen, Sir Tiziano Gahrron Lady of Alterac, Ilsaryn Silverwillow Lord of Darrow, Levictus Dalinroy Former Members Lord of Havenshire, Beketus Caballero Lord of Stratholme, Erek Galbarrow Lord of Thondroril, Amos Stannard, Micah Stannard Lord of East Darrowmere, Hestein Mohrgan Lord of West Darrowmere, Thadaen Andyr-Barov, Victor Bailan Military Liasion for Andorhal, Annora Florencia Military Liasion for Hillsbrad, Robert Hath Military Liasion for the Hinterlands, Liam Redpath Military Liasion for Silverpine, Bernard Sherringold Analysis of the Aristocracy Some believe that this move to aristocracy was inevitable---that a rigid social hierarchy is too deeply engrained into the psyche of Lordaeron. However, in actuality, the nation was evolving in a way that would have divided the boroughs rather than unify them. Leaders knew of the emerging rifts and thereby agreed to the Assembly's creation. But others still ask why there had to be an aristocracy when the new nation had the opportunity to be controlled by individual regional councils. The reality is that the councils never possessed the power to perform any actions. The "power of the purse" was not held by the councils---in the early days of New Lordaeron there was no revenue that could be collected from tariffs or taxes. Instead, all the money for the borough was coming from wealthy families---and these families such as the Forsens, Caballeros, Browmans, and Mohrgans would rise to hold core offices in the borough councils because of their wealth. Not all of the councils were ruled by who held the money. Some of the boroughs were so poor that no one held much wealth as was the case in the Blackwood and Northdale Boroughs.In these boroughs, the aristocracy emerged from among respected members of society such as Lord Geoffrey rising to power because he lead a resistance against the Scourge or the Lossier's because of their vocal advocacy of remaining independent.